


The new kid

by nishiki



Series: Happy Little Accident [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dad!Klaus Hargreeves, Alternate Universe - Parents, Baby Nathan, Dad!Klaus Hargreeves, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, First day at school, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Klaus is a good dad, Parenthood, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, responsible Klaus Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishiki/pseuds/nishiki
Summary: It's Nathan's first day at school - and already he has to stand his ground
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & Nathan Hargreeves (OMC), klaus hargreeves & ben hargreeves
Series: Happy Little Accident [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808335
Comments: 12
Kudos: 144





	The new kid

The sun was shining brightly in the sky on this Wednesday morning in early September. Summer still held Rome in a tight vice and was not about to give in. Big green eyes stared back at him in silent accusation. A plump bottom lip wobbled in betrayal. Fat tears rolled down flushed cheeks in utter heartbreak. Tiny fists clenched the fabric of a black denim jacket in fear of abandonment. 

Klaus Hargreeves, age twenty-five, was the worst father known in human history. In his heart, he wanted to give in and allow his baby to have his way. Already the other parents were looking at him with barely concealed amusement, some even with pity for the young father in their eyes. They’d all been there at one point or another.

"Nathie" He breathed but his son echoed his words with a hiccup before he all but threw himself at Klaus and curled his arms around his hips as much as he could. "Nathie, we talked about this…"

"Be strong, Klaus" Ben urged from where he was standing behind him. As he glanced over his shoulder at his brother, though, Ben looked just as conflicted as he felt. With a small sigh, Klaus crouched down in front of his six-year-old son who still looked at him as if he was standing at death’s door right now.

"Hey" He tried again as he was at eye-level with Nathan and took a hold of his tiny hands. "Nathie … what's wrong? We talked about it. You were all excited yesterday." 

"I don't wanna!" The little boy sobbed for what must’ve been the hundredths time already on this bright and beautiful day. Slowly, they were running out of time in front of that school. "I’m scared!"

"Scared of what, though?" Klaus asked quietly and as patiently as he could possibly muster.

"The other children!"

"Oh," He hummed and brushed the tears off of Nathan’s little face. "I know it's scary because you don't know anyone … But I promise you, you will make loads of friends soon. You just need to take that first step, right? I can assure you all the other kids are just as scared as you are right now." Wasn’t that what a parent was supposed to tell their kid? He was pretty sure that people on TV would say those things to their babies to calm them down. Not for the first time he wished that Mom or Pogo would be here with him right now.

"But what if they don’t like me?" Nathan inquired with a little hiccup.

"Of course, they will like you, Nugget." He huffed. "What's not to like?"

"Well, he can be snarky."

"Not helping, Benedict Cumberbatch." He muttered discreetly over his shoulder. "But yeah … maybe cut back on the snark a bit, Boss." 

Nathan still seemed unhappy and sniffled dramatically. "Why can’t I be homeschooled like you?"

"Well, because unlike my dad, I have to work so we have food on the table, Gremlin." And not for the first time he felt guilty for working and not spending time with his son. He wouldn't need to work, and he knew that, if he would just use his card and withdraw money from that nicely filled bank account that was loaded with his allowance from dear old Reggie. It seemed selfish that he rather worked instead of being with Nathan. "Come now. I know you will have fun, right? Hey … how about Uncle Benny stays with you today? You’ll not be alone then - Just … maybe don't talk to him, okay? The other children won’t get why you are talking to something that they can’t see."

Nathan gave a shaky nod and a shuddering exhale before Klaus hugged him again and wiped his face dry with his hands for good. "Okay," He said at last as he rose to his full height again and took Nathan’s hand. "Let's do this, big guy." 

With Nathan by his hand, Klaus walked into the school building and past other parents and children that were filtering in and out of the building. Sure, most parents were dropping their kids off at the front gate without as much hoopla about it but there were a few other parents, like Klaus, who were accompanying their children on their first day of school to their classrooms too. Klaus wondered if he would have been as terrified as Nathan was now if he had ever gone to a public school. 

He had never had this experience. He wondered even more if the other parents felt the same heartache as he felt as he finally reached the classroom and met Nathan’s teacher. The young lady smiled at him in understanding before she took Nathan by the hand and led him inside. Nathan looked back over his shoulder at him and waved and Klaus waved back as his heart broke into a million tiny pieces.

"It's tough, huh?" A young woman addressed him after a few moments. He noticed how she discreetly wiped a tear off her cheek. She was standing a few feet away from the classroom door behind Klaus and he had been so preoccupied with Nathan that he had not even noticed her. "Letting the little ones go and take their first steps to be independent little humans."

"Yeah" He huffed and wiped a hand down his face. His Italian had gotten better over the past couple of months and so had Nathan’s. Well, it helped to be able to be taught by that nice ghost that was in their apartment. Marco used to be a plumber but he had died from a heart attack two days before his sixth grandchild was born. "I never thought it would be like this. I feel like the worst person in history."

"It’ll pass." She smiled reassuringly even though it was clear that she felt much of the same pain Klaus felt. She was dressed in a nice flowing summer dress with little flowers on it and with her platform sandals and the big straw-hat in her hands and the sunglasses on top of her dark mane, she looked a little overdressed for the occasion. Then again, that was probably just his American sentiments since in his hometown it seemed the norm for people to run around in sweatpants all the time or looking like they just rolled out of bed. "I bet his mom feels even worse that she couldn't be here on his first day."

The way she looked at him, her brown eyes boring into his very soul, told him exactly what her game plan was. Usually, he wouldn't mind a bit of flirting but somehow it rubbed him the wrong way right now. "His mom is dead, so…"

"Oh!" She exclaimed and took a step back, seemingly horrified by the thought of having offended a grieving widower or whatever else she was taking him for. Klaus, however, suspected that there was much more deliberation at play here right now. Her outfit, the way she had waited on the hallway until she could make herself known, the way she held her straw-hat in her delicate fingers - showing that she was decidedly  _ not  _ wearing a ring. He knew women like her. She had probably checked him out earlier outside and noted that he too was not wearing a ring. "I’m so sorry!"

"It's okay, you didn't know. It's not like I’m carrying a sign around." He tried to joke.

"No … But still … I just thought-"

"I’m divorced or something?" Still, he smiled at her. Nothing wrong with talking, right? 

"Well … you don't often see single dads bringing their kid to school on their first day and being so … well … loving and sweet."

"And you wanted to see if I might be available" He huffed and watched how her cheeks turned red. "No worries. It's cool. I’m Klaus."

"Lucia." She replied. "So … Uhm … are you?"

"What?"

"Available." There was hope in her eyes and a smile on her face as she took a step forward again. 

He paused as he already opened his mouth. A part of him wanted to say yes. Why not? She was pretty enough to look at but … the way she was talking and holding herself ... All of that spoke of trouble to him. "No." He said after a moment. Lucia, in turn, reacted just like he would have expected her to. Her head turned a bright red and she pressed her lips together in anger before rushing off.

※※※※※※※

He was excited as he arrived back at the school. His entire body was vibrating with nervous energy, so much so, that he was all but bouncing on his heels. His boss lady had allowed him to go earlier today to pick up Nathan on this special first day. Well, he had hardly been able to focus on work anyway the entire time, too focussed on what his baby might be experiencing and going through. At least he always had the comfort of knowing that Ben was there with Nathan, looking out for him, even though he couldn't really do anything to help the little one if it would come to it.

Electricity was shooting through him and making him vibrate on the spot. As he looked around and watched the other parents, they seemed much more relaxed and calm. He noticed Lucia again, who stood a bit further away and was chatting up another mom. Only occasionally she looked over at him and he got the distinct feeling that she was maybe talking about him. Awesome. Already people were talking about him. Well, fuck it. He didn't care. Finally, as the doors opened and the first kids got out and ran all excited towards their parents, the ladies stopped chatting to greet their kids. 

It seemed to take ages for his son to show up and when he did, Klaus almost took a double-take. There was blood on his son’s face that he tried to wipe off as he walked out followed by Ben. He hurried over to meet the little guy halfway and crouched down in front of him immediately to pull him in his arms. "Hey, Nugget, what happened to your lip?" 

His bottom lip was split open and still bleeding. He felt the urge to find whoever did this to his baby boy and kick their ass. That was when another boy exited the building, wailing because of a bloody nose and none other than Lucia rushed to greet him the same way Klaus had rushed over to Nathan. 

"Mateo was mean to me" Nathan explained. Unlike Mateo, however, Nathan didn't look like he had cried at all. "He made fun of me because I have no mommy - so I said that at least my daddy didn’t run off with some painted lady like his. Then he punched me - and I punched him back." 

Lucia glared daggers at him as she cooed over her boy but Klaus couldn't help the grin that crept up on him. "You know what, Munchkin? I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself in the face of bullies."

Nathan’s face lit up and Lucia turned a bright red as she had evidently heard their exchange. "So you’re not mad?" Nathan asked quietly before Klaus handed his son a tissue. He never used to have anything like that on him until he became a dad. As a parent, you always have tissues or napkins on your person. 

"Mad?" He huffed and glanced at Lucia from the side before he looked back at his son. "Hell no." 


End file.
